One thing in the world of work that is getting increasing amounts of press is the gig economy. According to a recent article that appeared in Personnel Today, half of all HR professionals interviewed believe this practice of hiring workers based on a project-to-project basis will continue.
When it comes to who will train these contracted employees, HR professionals seem just about evenly split on who should pay for it. Some 40% of those interviewed indicated that it should fall to the worker to pay for training while the same number indicated that it should fall to the company to pay for such skills training
While it often falls to them, only 11% of workers felt it was their responsibility to manage and fund their own training and development, while 50% of these contracted workers felt that it should be up to the company that contracts their services as workers.
One solution that 56% of HR professionals suggested was to make training materials freely available in order to support the ever-growing freelance workforce that they have come to rely on more often. This, according to Andy Campbell, strategy director for human capital management at Oracle, shows a need for change in how workers are trained. Recruiting skilled candidates on short notice requires, he feels, a rethink, if businesses want to stay on top of their projects.
Campbell suggests that today’s organizations need to have a more fluid talent pool, not only because technologies change so quickly, but also having workers who are not up to speed can disrupt business models that are already in place. “Equally, they need to make it easy for contract workers to add value quickly and collaborate with permanent team members. An ‘open-source approach’ to training for contractors would make it easier to effectively onboard new people so they hit the ground running,” he said.
The gig economy offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of having the right talent for a company’s current and upcoming projects. Because advances in technology change so quickly in almost every industry and type of business, it’s important to have the right people in place and up to speed as quickly as possible.
At NetPEO, we understand that today’s workforce is constantly changing. We offer a full range of services which include payroll, management of employee benefits and liability management. We also offer brokerage services and employee leasing services in order to address your organization’s permanent or temporary personnel needs.
Contact us today to discuss your company’s current needs and goals. We are here to all of your questions and outline how we can help. Call to schedule a free assessment today. Let NetPEO help you with all of your employee needs.